Hello Beautiful Soul,

Summer Solstice Greetings

I love the energy surrounding midsummer. With the light and warmth from the longer days comes an extra energy flourish of energy. Everything is an outward expression of growth and creativity. Nature has peaked and is showing off in its many hues. I look out of my window, astounded by how many shades of green there are.

As a species, we tend to place ourselves outside nature, but we are a part of it. Summer is a time for our own outward expression. The perfect time to showcase who we are to the world before we harvest our rewards and put our thoughts inward, like a seed in the cold and dark of winter, ready for the promise of spring and renewal.

But in ways, we are different to, say, a tree. A tree sets root and expects its needs to come towards it through the air, sunlight and soil. We are not rooted like a tree. We are an action-orientated species. Our sympathetic nervous system gets a lot of negativity because this is the part which switches on when we’re in survival mode; plus, an overactive system leads to anxiety and stress. But when our sympathetic nervous system is aroused, it propels us to take action and, importantly, to thrive. Yours is aroused right now because you’re engaged in reading this email (at least, I hope you are—otherwise, the parasympathetic nervous system has kicked in, and you’re going into rest and digest mode). So, how have I been taking action this month?

Sent new chapters to my beta readers.

This is always exciting. I love sharing work, and this story with the working title Guesthouse for the Lost and Found is equally fun and very personal to me. I have an enormous amount of world-building to do. But this is an area of writing which I thoroughly enjoy.

Artwork accepted for the Earth Pathways 2024 diary.

The Earth Pathways Co-operative is a not-for-profit organisation committed to positive environmental change and creating a better world for the future. It is committed to providing a thriving network and support for writers and artists expressing their love for the land and inspiring a more caring and environmentally aware future for all.

I have been buying and using these diaries since 2012. They are filled with inspirational works of visual art and written words celebrating our natural world.

You can read more on my blog about the backstory for my two accepted pieces, Mulfa Quoit and Fan Y Big. Or treat yourself or a friend and buy a copy.

There is more to come. But some seeds take longer to germinate. So perhaps next month I will have more news to share.

Take Care,

Love Emma